The Sports Xchange
MLB Team Report – Kansas City Royals – INSIDE PITCH
The Royals will go so only as far as their starting pitching will take them. And that’s not a pleasant thought, at least on paper.
Left-hander Bruce Chen, who has a 60-58 record with a 4.52 ERA, is the only starter with a career winning record in the majors. He gets the Opening Day call.
Right-hander Luke Hochevar is 30-43 with a 5.29 ERA, left-hander Jonathan Sanchez 38-46 with a 4.26 ERA, right-hander Luis Mendoza 6-9 with a 7.36 ERA and lefty Danny Duffy 4-8, 5.64.
The Royals are expecting a breakthrough season for Hochevar, but that has been their mantra nearly every March since drafting him first overall in 2006. He did finish strong last season.
The offense looked sharp in spring training, posting a .305 batting average over the first 27 games. Left fielder Alex Gordon, the second player picked in the 2005 draft, had his breakout season last year — .303, 45 doubles, 23 homers, 87 RBI and 101 runs. He’s picked up right where he left off this spring, and he signed a four-year contract extension for $37.5 million on March 30. The deal includes a player option for a fifth season.
Center fielder Lorenzo Cain looks like a capable replacement for Melky Cabrera, who was traded to the Giants for Sanchez. Cain had hit .403 in spring training through March 30. Right fielder Jeff Francoeur rounds out a competent outfield.
Johnny Giavotella was the favorite entering camp to be the starting second baseman, but he didn’t hit enough to hold the job with his below-average defense. He was optioned to Class AAA Omaha. Chris Getz will get the nod to start at second, but Yuniesky Betancourt, who was signed a free agent to be a utility infielder, should see plenty of time at the position.
The infield corners will be manned by first baseman Eric Hosmer and third baseman Mike Moustakas, two of the Royals’ most highly touted prospects since outfielders Johnny Damon and Carlos Beltran arrived in the 1990s. Hosmer led the majors in spring training with 28 RBI through March 30.
Yost calls Alcides Escobar the best defensive shortstop in the majors. Designated hitter Billy Butler is one of the top right-handed hitters in the league, and he compiled a .729 slugging percentage through 22 exhibition games.
The bullpen took a direct hit with Joakim Soria’s elbow injury, which will require season-ending surgery. Yost said right-handers Greg Holland, Jonathan Broxton and Aaron Crow are the candidates to close with Soria out.
Another major blow was catcher Salvador Perez’s knee injury. He likely won’t return before July, which dictated the Royals acquiring catcher Humberto Quintero from the Astros in a trade.
———————————————–
MLB Team Report – Kansas City Royals – NOTES, QUOTES
–LF Alex Gordon agreed March 30 to a $37.5 million, four-year contract with a player option for a fifth season that could keep him a Royal through 2016. Gordon will make $6 million this season, $9 million next season, $10 million in 2014 and $12.5 million in 2015. The player option is also for $12.5 million.
“This is where I wanted to be,” Gordon said. “I’m thrilled it’s done and over with. I can look to the future now. I’m liking what I see. Our goal was to get it done by the beginning of the year, before the season started. It’s a very exciting day for me.”
–RHP Felipe Paulino will start the season on the disabled list due to a forearm strain. Paulino was 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA in four exhibition outings, yielding 16 hits and 10 runs in 11 2/3 innings.
–2B Johnny Giavotella hit .250 in 19 games and struck out 12 times with only one walk in 44 at-bats before being optioned March 25 to Class AAA Omaha. Manager Ned Yost said he knows Giavotella can hit, as the infielder had a .305 batting average in four minor league seasons, but that Giavotella needs to improve his defense.
–LHP Tommy Hottovy will open the season with Class AAA Omaha, although he was very impressive in spring training, posting a 0.87 ERA with 11 strikeouts and no walks in 10 1/3 innings. Hottovy is a Kansas City native, and he went to Wichita State. Don’t be surprised to see him back this summer in Kansas City in a Royals uniform.
–RHP Joakim Soria sought three opinions on the ligament damage in his elbow before deciding to undergo Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career. Dr. Lewis Yocum is scheduled to perform the surgery April 3 in Los Angeles. Soria, a two-time AL All-Star with 160 career saves, also missed the 2003 season after having the Tommy John procedure. RHPs Jonathan Broxton, Greg Holland and Aaron Crow are the top choices to be the closer with Soria out for the season.
–RHP Blake Wood has been shut down due to an elbow bruise, and he will open the season on the disabled list. Wood is not expected to pitch again until late April. Wood was 5-3 with a 3.75 ERA in 55 relief appearances last year, but he went 1-2 with an 8.10 ERA in four relief appearances in March before getting hurt.
–1B Eric Hosmer played right field March 23 for the first time. He played the final four innings in the outfield in the 2-0 victory over the Dodgers and caught a foul fly, the only ball hit to him. Manager Ned Yost said in interleague games it could be an option to use Hosmer in the outfield to get the bats of both Hosmer and DH/1B Billy Butler in the same lineup. “I’m not going to say it’s going to happen. I’m just saying we want to be prepared if it does happens,” Yost said.
–RHP Luke Hochevar threw six scoreless innings, struck out eight, walked none and gave up three hits in the Royals’ 2-0 shutout of the Dodgers on March 23. However, in his March 28 start, he gave up four runs on eight hits in five innings against the Rangers, although he did strike out six and walk just one. Heading into April, Hochevar was 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA in five starts with 21 strikeouts and two walks in 19 innings.
BY THE NUMBERS: 29 — Spring RBI for 1B Eric Hosmer in 26 games through April 1, easily the most in the majors. Three players were tied for second with 19.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I feel like one of the old guys around the clubhouse. It’s good to part of this, all these young guys coming up.” — LF Alex Gordon, 27, after signing a four-year contract with the Royals.
———————————————–
MLB Team Report – Kansas City Royals – ROSTER REPORT
The Royals lost two key players, C Salvador Perez and RHP Joakim Soria, to injuries as spring training was winding down. Perez likely will not return until July after having knee surgery. Soria, who has logged 28 or more saves in each of the past four seasons, is out for the season with Tommy John surgery scheduled for April 3. Plus, RHP Felipe Paulino will start the season on the 15-day disabled list due to a forearm strain.
ROTATION:
1. LHP Bruce Chen
2. RHP Luke Hochevar
3. LHP Jonathan Sanchez
4. RHP Luis Mendoza
5. LHP Danny Duffy
Chen has led the club in victories the past two years, and he draws his first Opening Day assignment since breaking into the majors with the Braves in 1998.
Hochevar, who was the 2011 Opening Day starter, drops into the No. 2 slot to begin this season. He was the first player picked in the 2006 draft, which included Cy Young Award winners LHP Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers and RHP Tim Lincecum of the Giants. Hochevar, meanwhile, has a 30-43 record with a 5.29 ERA in 100 major league games. If the Royals are to be true contenders, not pretenders, they’ll need Hochevar to pitch as he did at the end of last season — 6-3 with a 3.52 ERA.
Sanchez was the Royals’ major acquisition during the offseason, acquired in a trade with the Giants. Sanchez is famous for his strikeouts, 9.37 per nine innings since 2007, and infamous for his walks, 5.86 per nine innings in 2011, the highest ratio in the majors.
Chen has led the club in victories the past two years, but he fits better near the bottom of the rotation. RHP Felipe Paulino’s forearm strain allowed the Royals to keep Mendoza in the rotation. Mendoza pitched well enough in spring training to earn a rotation spot, going 4-0 with a 0.54 ERA through five games.
Duffy was erratic in spring training, but he has a 98 mph fastball.
BULLPEN:
RHP Greg Holland (closer)
RHP Jonathan Broxton
RHP Aaron Crow
LHP Jose Mijares
RHP Kelvin Herrera
LHP Tim Collins
LHP Everett Teaford
The bullpen order got out of whack with RHP Joakim Soria’s elbow injury leaving a gaping hole at closer. Holland, who has just a little more than a year’s experience in the bigs, held hitters to a .175 average last year and struck out 74 in 60 innings. He also logged four saves to go with his 5-1 record and 1.80 ERA. Broxton has closing experience with the Dodgers, but had elbow surgery last September.
Crow was an All-Star selection as a rookie in 2011, but he wore down the second half: 2.08 ERA at the break and a 4.34 ERA after it. Mijares was the opposite of Crow: a 6.26 ERA in his first 37 appearances, 2.49 ERA in his final 21. Collins must cut down on his walks, 48 in 67 innings last season. Herrera is the only rookie to make the 25-man roster. Teaford will be the long man to start the season.
LINEUP:
1. LF Alex Gordon
2. CF Lorenzo Cain
3. 1B Eric Hosmer
4. DH Billy Butler
5. RF Jeff Francoeur
6. 3B Mike Moustakas
7. C Humberto Quintero
8. SS Alcides Escobar
9. 2B Chris Getz
Hosmer is young but extremely talented. He is the cog that will make this offense go. He can hit for power and average and is a run-producer.
Cain, who had a superb spring training, will not only replace Melky Cabrera (traded to the Giants) in center, but in the second slot of the batting order. There was some question how much the Royals would miss Cabrera’s offense after he hit .305 with 44 doubles, 18 homers and 201 hits last year, but Cain looks like more than an adequate replacement. Defensively, he can cover more ground than Cabrera.
Gordon, armed with a four-year contract extension, gives the Royals power at the top of the order — .303, 23 homers, 45 doubles and a .376 on-base percentage last year. Moustakas didn’t hit much when he was initially called up on June 10, but he batted .379 in his final 36 games. While the top six of this order are potential potent bats, the bottom three — Quintero, Escobar and Getz — won’t scare any pitchers.
RESERVES:
C Brayan Pena
UT Yuniesky Betancourt
OF Jason Bourgeois
OF Mitch Maier
Pena is considered a better hitter than Quintero, who has a career .234 batting average in the majors, so both will play. Manager Ned Yost, however, prefers defense over offense behind the plate. Bourgeois was a late arrival in camp, coming with Quintero in a trade with the Astros. He gives the Royals speed off the bench (31 stolen bases last year) and he can also play some in the infield.
Betancourt, who started at shortstop for a year and a half with the Royals, is back as a utility man, capable of playing second, short and third. Maier, a 2003 first-round pick, is the longest-tenured Royal.
MEDICAL WATCH:
–C Salvador Perez (left knee surgery in March 2012) went on the 60-day disabled list March 20. He is expected to be out until June.
–C Manny Pina (right knee surgery in February 2012) went on the 60-day disabled list March 20. He is expected to be out until at least June.
–RHP Joakim Soria (torn ulnar collateral ligament in right elbow) was scheduled to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery April 3.
–RHP Felipe Paulino (right forearm strain) will start the season on the 15-day disabled list.
–RHP Blake Wood (elbow bruise) will open the season on the 15-day disabled list. He is not expected to pitch again until late April.
———————————————–
